1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an extension for an exhaust pipe, and particularly to an extension for an exhaust pipe with lights incorporated therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Owners of automobiles may want to customize their vehicles by applying personalized decorative touches. Decorations may include such things as chrome plated or aluminum anodized engine or chassis components, lights attached to various locations on the vehicle body, customized body panels, and so on. Some of these decorations are more permanent than others, particularly if they are difficult to remove, or take considerable time and effort to install. An example of an effort-intensive installation is the above-mentioned chrome plating. The tastes of owners of automobiles may be fickle, however, so it would be desirable if vehicle decorations were relatively easy to install and remove. It also may be desirable for decorations to be easily removed at the time the vehicle is sold, since a prospective buyer may not share the vehicle owner""s tastes. It may also be desirable to be able to install a decorative item before, e.g. a Saturday night spent cruising the local strip, and then remove the decorative item before driving the vehicle to work or school;on Monday.
Exhaust pipes customarily protrude from the rear of an automobile, and thus offer a highly visible location for decorative effects to be installed on an automobile. Some examples of decorative effects on exhaust pipes are chrome plated exhaust pipes, exhaust pipe extenders, larger-diameter exhaust pipes, and so on.
One technique of decorating cars in general, and exhaust pipes in particular, is to incorporate a light or a collection of lights in the exhaust pipe. Such lights may be, e.g. incorporated in the end of the exhaust pipe, or in a collar-like extender fitted over the end of the exhaust pipe, so that the lights are visible to those behind the vehicle. Lights may be, e.g. arranged in a ring around an inner circumference of an exhaust pipe or an exhaust pipe extender. Lights arranged around an inner circumference of an extender, however, may not be easily visible from a corner or a side of the vehicle. If such lights were, for example, recessed in the extender, the walls of the extender may block the view of an observer on the corner of the vehicle. It would be desirable to place a light in the center of an exhaust pipe extender, so that even if it were recessed, it may be substantially visible to those at the corner of the vehicle.
Since lighted exhaust pipe extenders may have a ring of lights arranged around an inner circumference of an exhaust pipe extender, exhaust gases passing through such extenders on their way to the atmosphere may obscure the lights. This is true especially if the engine is not tuned, or is not running efficiently. Engines that aren""t running efficiently often emit blue or black smoke, which may block the light. Even exhaust gases of tuned engines may absorb certain wavelengths of light, and transmit others, thus changing the color of the lights as seen by an observer. It would be desirable if the flow of exhaust were substantially diverted before it reached the lights, so that the lights would not be subjected to the stream of exhaust, thereby maintaining their brightness and attractiveness.
Exhaust gases passing through such extenders on their way to the atmosphere may also coat the lights with the products of combustion from the engine, lubricating oil, and so on. Products of combustion may be, for example, water and unburned hydrocarbons, along with oxides of nitrogen. Such chemicals may be corrosive. Furthermore, placing the lights in the stream of the exhaust reduces the lifespan of the lights, since the heat and moisture from the exhaust degrades the lights and their electrical connections. It would be desirable if the flow of exhaust were substantially diverted before reaching the lights, so that the lights would be protected from the stream of exhaust, thereby increasing their longevity.
In one embodiment, a lighted extension for an exhaust pipe is provided which has an elongated substantially cylindrical collar including a first portion disposed coaxially around an exhaust pipe and a second portion that extends beyond an exhaust pipe end of the exhaust pipe. A plurality of fasteners is disposed substantially radially around a circumference of the first portion to secure the collar to the exhaust pipe. A cap with a plurality of lights displayably disposed in the cap is removably disposed over an end of the second portion. A perforation disposed in a wall of the second portion, communicating with the exhaust pipe, allows exhaust diverted by a baffle disposed within the second portion medially between the perforation and the cap to pass through the perforation, substantially avoiding the lights.